2014

Ok. Let me remember what is been going on. Christmas day was very normal. For the last month I had been asking Mike to seat with me for a little bit and plan something for our Christmas dinner. He was been very indifferent so I didn't want to bother him so much. Since this was going to be the first time for me to be in charge of a Christmas dinner I really didn't know what to make. In Mexico my mom would cook a delicious stuffed turkey with creamy green spaghetti and mashed potatoes. For Dessert she makes a delicious fruit salad and a fruit drink. It is kind of a party in Mexico and I know it is very different here so I really didn't know what to do. Mike decided the day before that he wanted to eat pineapple glazed ham, sweet carrots, and green bean casserole so off we went to Walmart to get the stuff. The 24^th he came home with a lemon tree (my Christmas present), a Christmas tree and a nice set of Christmas plates. He later told me that he felt bad he was making my first experience here kind of crappy. We called our ex-neighbor Steve and he joined us for dinner that night. It went quite well. Lisa got a baby from Santa. We watched some of Mike’s favorite Christmas movies and that was it for us.

My lemon tree is behind me. It came with three full grown lemons that I used to cook some garlic lemon tilapias

Not the best picture of us. This was our first Christmas together. Last year I was in Mexico with Lisa

New Year's eve we went to a sushi buffet. Big mistake since I am pregnant and I am supposed to eat things that are thoroughly cooked, and there were not a lot of rolls that were cooked. They did have other things that were fine I guess. I don't think buffets work for me since I don't eat that much, but I guess we had a good time and I didn't have to cook.

The green card story.

Three months after I married Mike I received a green card that was good for two years. After those two years we were supposed to submit proof that we were still married and that we were still a legitimate couple. At the end of 2012 we filed everything we had to the immigration office, which was pretty much the same we did two years before plus Lisa's birth certificate. We moved from our rental in March and I immediately changed my address because the government likes to keep track of us aliens (I have an alien number). A month later I received a letter that said that the conditions of my green card had been removed and that I was a permanent resident. That means that I don't have to prove that Mike and I are a real couple anymore. So If I was one of those girls using gringos for green cards this would be the time to run. The letter also said that I should receive my card in July, I gave immigration a call just to make sure that they had received my change of address form and sure enough they hadn't changed my address yet so the lady did it over the phone. July came and then August and September and I started to get a little worried. I called to make sure that they had my new address and the lady told me that they never changed it but that if by October 5th I hadn't received it I should call again. I wasn't planning to travel any time soon so I totally forgot about it until I got really really home sick and decided that I was going to go to Mexico before baby number two is born. Late December I still hadn't received the card and decided to call once again. To my surprise the lady on the phone told me that my card had been delivered on October 18th TO MY OLD ADDRESS!!! I was livid. She told me that my address was never changed and that if my card had been lost I would have to apply for a new one and pay 450 dollars, plus I was going to have to wait for months to receive it. She told me that I should check with my postal office and maybe with the people that are actually living in my old apartment. So off we go the apartment complex where we used to live. First I asked the office because I remember taking mail that didn't belong to me to them to do whatever. They did not have the envelope. Mike said that it was probably not a good idea to go knock on somebody's door and accuse them of keeping my mail for months, and he also thought that the postal office people were awful and would not help me. He had obviously given up but for some reason I kept thinking that we were going to find that envelope. That night we went home. I cant even remember how many times I said little prayers asking help to find this piece of lost mail. I have been struggling here lately, I am scared of anti-depressants and I feel like nobody really understands what I go through unless they have actually been in my shoes. There is a lot of accidental insensitivity when it comes to people giving advice to somebody experiencing depression and don't take me wrong, I really appreciate everyone's advice. Anyway, I want so bad to see my parents, my sister, my brother, my little nephew, my friends, my country, but most of all I want for all of them to see Lisa because once this baby girl is born I can only travel there with Mike and that is going to be very hard and expensive.

The next day I woke up early and hopeful, I went to the postal office and although Mike prepared me for some rude employees I actually had a good experience. They looked through piles of returned email, they smiled at me and they were really nice. I guess its hard to be mean to a pregnant lady. They did not find my envelope but they told me that it couldn't hurt to go see the people living in my previous address and tell them that it was important mail and that I had filed a police report. So off we went again. I knocked on their door and a very nice young girl was there, I told her about the card and why it was so important for us to find it. I found myself crying and explaining how much I wanted to go see my family in Mexico, then I blamed everything on the pregnancy hormones. She told me that she hadn't seen anything lately and since the card was supposedly delivered in October she didn't think she had it. She did say that she had an entire box of junk email and that she was going to try to go through that nigh because she did remember seeing stuff that was for us but that sometimes she didn't have time to go through it and return it. We exchanged phone numbers and I left. When I got in the car I really lost it. I had been so optimist and I thought that she was my last chance and I knew it was over. Not only I wasn't going to go to see my family in who knows how long, but I was also going to have to pay 500 dollars for a lost card that was lost because the immigration office never changed my address. I cried and cried all the way to our house. We were almost home when all of the sudden my phone rings and I see this lady's number. I answer the phone and she is yelling hysterically that she thinks she has found my precious little piece of mail, but she is not sure. We turn around and go over to the apartment complex again. She was waiting outside her door with an envelope in her hands. As soon as I took it from her I know it is my green card, I could feel the square little card inside.She said she felt so bad for me that she started going through the box of junk mail as soon as I stepped out of her door. I was so happy that again I cried and cried I was so happy. Then I felt bad for Mike because I thought that being so happy to leave maybe would make him feel bad. I don't like to make him feel bad that I miss Mexico so much. When I turned to look at him he had tears in his eyes, I said I am sorry if I am making you sad, and he said I am just happy to see you happy. Then I said "Heavenly Father does love me and He cares for the little things we care about", Mike agreed.

January is gone and there isn't much to report so I will write a list of the words that Lisa says, just to keep a record I guess. She says more words in Spanish because I try really hard not to use Spanish with her. Mike does English mostly and some Spanish. However, she sometimes says words or little phrases in English that I never use and I don't know where she gets them. its funny.

*Ella

*Bear- The dog living with us, not the animal

* The Moma (Mike taught her to say that)

*Daddy

*Leche = Milk

*Agua= water

*Pan= Bread

*Snacks= Fruit Snacks

*Pasas = Raisins

*Queso = Cheese

*Pelota = Ball - She says both and understands what we are asking in either language

*Niños = Kids

* Book

*All done - This one we have no idea where she got it, when she is done eating she tries to unlock the straps of her chair and yells ALL DONE!

*Dos = two

*Treats = Dog treats. Lisa's first responsibility is to hand the dogs their glucosamine treats, they are very gentle when taking them and she loves to do it

*George = Curious George the cartoon

*Traposo = A Spanish bear that sings kids songs

*Aqui = Here (she uses it to describe puzzles. It happened because when I was teaching her I said "here" as in "that piece goes here" so now the word for puzzle is AQUI

*No = No (favorite word)

*The baby = She know that "el bebe" also means the baby but she doesn't say it in Spanish. When I ask her in Spanish to bring el bebe she goes running and brings the baby and says "the baby"

*Nariz = Nose

*Tuch = Mayan word for belly botton

Those are all the ones I can remember for now. We know she understand both languages because when we ask her to bring specific books she always gets it right no matter inf the book is in Spanish or English and no matter in what language we ask her to do it. I have read that kids that grow up in bilingual homes take longer to express their vocabulary but that they know and understand both languages. 

Monday night I read an article that said that a snow storm was expected to hit the South East of the country and that we were going to have maybe two inches of snow. I really didn't think much of it, only that I didn't want more cold days anymore. Tuesday morning everyone went to work and it was a normal day, then it started snowing a little bit and it went for almost all day. I thought it was cute to look from our window but again I didn't think much of it. At about 4:30 Mike called and said that he was leaving work early and that he wasn't going to drive. I honestly thought he was being ridiculous. Your are not going to drive because of two inches of snow? He said maybe I should watch the news. When I turned on the news I could't believe it. Highways were basically parking lots. I guess people realized that it was going to be a little hard to get home and decided to leave work early, or try and pick up their kids at school all at the same time. For some reason the city was incredibly unprepared and people ended up stuck in traffic overnight. There were lots of accidents and children got stuck at school all night too. Mike decided to take the train and then walk home from the station. It took him two hours, but had he decided to drive he would have been stuck in the highway overnight for sure. Thank Goodness he made the right decision. Wednesday we spend the day at home trapped basically because we didn't have a car and because almost every road was covered with black ice.

Lisa didn't like snow at all. She might look like a mini Mike with brown eyes but she is just like mom.

Before I end my post I really need to put on record something that is embarrassing but funny.I think we all have guilty pleasures, for me its reality shows. The one I am most embarrassed about is the Kardashian's.  Is not that I am trying to justify it but the truth is that I never know what is going on. I like to watch parts of it because I love the way they decorate their houses, and I also love some of their outfits and the way they do their hair and stuff like that. I never know what is going on because I am not really paying attention to what they are saying. I am always trying to see what kind of rugs they have, what kind of kitchen cabinets, wall papers, and also baby stuff. However, somebody seems to be quite interested. Tonight while I was typing this entry the Kardashian show was on and Mike came downstairs ans asked "So, what is going on with Khloe and Lamar?" I am laughing so hard as as write this because I can believe somebody was actually paying some attention, I feel so bad. I turned to him in shock and told him I had no idea. Then we talked about our guilty pleasures which we concluded include soda, junk food, and some reality shows. We both decided that the Kardashian's show is something horrible and we will never watch any part of it again. The really funny thing is that before he went upstairs to do some homework he took my computer and googled "Khole and Lamar". He really wanted to know.